Thank you very much to Ken Walsh for putting together the below tournament preview for Division 2. The small school tournament takes place at SUNY Ulster on Sunday 2/11 and action will begin at 11:15.
99 Pounds
The favorite here is freshman Nikko Walsh (26-3) from Rondout Valley. Walsh is the defending champion at this weight and is ranked 4th in the state. He has never lost to a Section 9 D2 wrestler. Walsh will likely meet Joey Curreri (25-9) from Eldred-Liberty- Sullivan West in the finals.
106 Pounds
Sophomore Matt Morris (23-10) from Red Hook is the favorite here. Morris was a finalist at 99 last year and has beaten everyone in the section at this weight. He could be challenged by Timmy Pereira from Rondout Valley who is looking stronger as the year goes on.
113 Pounds
Freshman Aidan Cuppett (25-8) from New Paltz is the #1 seed based on his 3rd place finish in the sections last year but the favorite has to be the 2nd seed, 8th grader Eric Tigue (25-8) from Port Jervis. Tigue is undefeated in Section 9 D2 and also has a victory over Jon Charles from Central Valley Academy a former NYS champ.
120 Pounds
120 is going to be very interesting to watch! The top seed here is Onteora freshman Pat Ross (30-7) who is the defending Section 9 D2 champion at 106, but he will definitely be challenged by the #2 seed, 9th grader Ethan Palanca ( 32-2) from New Paltz. Palanca’s only two losses this season have been to the top 2 120 pounders in the S9 D1 tournament, Marco Vespa from Monroe Woodbury and Brandon DeLaRosa from NFA.
126 Pounds
Freshman Nick Ross from Onteora won the Section 9 D2 title at 113 last year and is the favorite to win here. He will get pressed by the #2 seed Liam Bullock (15-2) from Chester-Tuxedo.
132 Pounds
Port Jervis senior Carson Sauschuck (30-5) from Port Jervis has been solid at this weight all year and is the #1 seed. Nanuk McBride from Red Hook is the second seed and he has a head-to-head win over Ceaser Luna (21-11) from Highland, the #3 seed. However we shouldn’t overlook Onteora senior Trevor Faveron (22-9) who could challenge for the top spot on the podium.
138 Pounds
Onteora’s Nate Ross (22-5) is the defending Section 9 D2 champ at 126 is the favorite here having victories over both second seeded Nicholas Curreri (24-8) from Eldred-Liberty- Sullivan West and Mat Malheiro (28-5) from Highland who is the #3 seed. Malherio is the defending Section 9 D2 champ at this weight and is 1-1 against Curreri so this could get very interesting! This is one of two weight classes in the tournament that has two defending Section 9 champs – 145 is the other.
145 Pounds
Ian Houck (28-5) in the defending Section 9 D2 champion at 132, the # 8 ranked wrestler in the state and the active wins leader in Section 9! He is definitely the favorite here but he will certainly get pressed by Onteora’s Zack Chartrand (22-10) who is the defending champ at 145. Houck beat Chartrand in a close match earlier this season. Also in the mix at 145 is Port Jervis senior Joseph Mahaney who is 17-7.
152 Pounds
The favorite here is William Harrison (32-3) from Port Jervis who has a win over the #2 seed Luke Jones (21-9) from Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West. Logan Michael (20-14) from New Paltz is having a very nice season and could also be in the hunt.
160 Pounds
Tristen Schiafo (28-6) the #1 seed from Red Hook has dominated everyone in Section 9 D2 at this weight – no D2 wrestler has made it out of the first period against him thus far! He could, however be challenged by the #2 seed Griffin Roddy (24-9) from Port Jervis who has a head-to-head win over the #3 seed Caesar Santiago (21-8) from Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West.
170 Pounds
Dillion Ross (41-2) is the defending champion at 152, the #2 ranked wrestler in the state, and is having a dominating season with the best chance of any Section 9 wrestler to place or win a title in Albany in two weeks. One of his two losses was a 5-4 decision to Ross McFarland of Phoenix who was second in the state at 152 last year. Dominic Zappolo Port Jervis is the #2 seed but James DeAveiro (23-11) from Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West could make things interesting.
182 Pounds
Jason Butler (33-5) from Port Jervis is the #1 seed and a clear favorite here with his only losses in Section 9 coming at the hands of Dillon Ross. The #2 seed Jack Purcell (14-8) from New Paltz and the #3 seed Drew Bendy (19-12) from Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West will have their hands full at this weight.
195 Pounds
Raven Aumick (25-5) from Port Jervis is the #1 seed while Ryan Hobson (21-10) from Red Hook sits at the #2 seed. The two have battled once this season with Aumick coming out on top 5-2.
220 Pounds
Devin Dixon (25-8) from New Paltz is the #1 seed with Nicholas Rekuc from Ellenville the #2 seed. Dixon has a sudden victory 7-5 win over Rekuc and a win by fall over the #3 Jovane Dennis from Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West. This is still one of the most wide open weights in the tournament!
285 Pounds
This weight has 3 wrestlers entered with 20+ wins! Liam Dietrich (26-5) from Red Hook is the #1 seed, James Oosterom (23-6) from Port Jervis is the #2 seed, and Casey Maynard (22-15) from Highland is the #3 seed. Dietrich, who won the Mid Hudson Tournament and was second at this weight last year, has a win by fall over #2 Oosterom and the #3 Maynard making him the clear favorite here.
Isn’t the 126 weight class loaded? Like it has Joey Amato from Port Jervis who beat Ross in the 1st period and you have John Antonelli from Marlboro who had a close 10-7 to bullock earlier in the year.